The four types of marine surveys

As we noted recently on this blog, hiring a marine surveyor is essential if you're going to be purchasing a new or used boat soon. These surveys make sure that the vessel you're buying is in operable condition and that all of the various structural components, accessories and marine GPS electronics you have on board are working as advertised.

But having a marine survey performed on the watercraft you're purchasing is only one type of survey you may need to order throughout your ownership of the boat. There are actually four main types that you may need to have done on your vessel at some point during its lifetime. These include:

Appraisal inspection: You may need to order one of these to determine the fair market value of the boat for the purposes of selling it, having it financed or if it needs to be auctioned during an estate sale

Damage survey: If you're ever involved in an accident, your insurer will hire a surveyor to determine the extent of the damage in order to figure out how much will need to be paid for the claim.

Insurance survey: Whenever you're trying to get an insurance policy on your boat, the insurer will most likely ask to have a survey performed that checks out the structural integrity of the vehicle to make sure it is a low risk

Pre-purchase inspection: As described above, this is when you hire a surveyor to make sure the vehicle you're buying is in good shape.

Once you've purchased your new boat, you should make sure it has all the communication and navigation equipment it needs to make your trips safer and easier, such as a chartplotter. You can find this equipment at ePal.